Cardinal Dolan Remembers Stan 'The Man' Musial As 'Great Catholic, Great American'
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - Timothy Cardinal Dolan has taken to Twitter to honor baseball legend Stan "The Man" Musial.
The baseball Hall Of Famer and one of the game's all-time hitting legends died Saturday at the age of 92.
Dolan called Musial a "great Catholic" and a "great man," and the Cardinal also reposted one of his blog entries about the St. Louis Cardinals legend.
In a blog posting from Jan. 19, 2012, Dolan wrote: "On the morning it was announced that the Holy Father had nominated me a cardinal, one of the journalists at the press conference in front of the Christmas crib in St. Patrick's Cathedral asked if I had ever 'wanted to be a cardinal.'
'Yes,' I readily replied. 'When I was six years old. I wanted to be Stan Musial!' Stan, of course, is one of the greatest baseball players ever, to this day the most renowned of my beloved hometown St. Louis Cardinals. He is 'the Man.' As a kid, I idolized him."
Dolan recalled receiving a copy of Musial's biography for Christmas in 2011.
In the blog post, Dolan praised Musial for his strong work ethic and for being a good role model and influence on all who watched him play.
Dolan wrote than Musial "readily admits one of the highpoints (sic) of his life was getting to know his fellow Pole, Blessed John Paul II," and that he "never missed Sunday Mass."
WEB EXTRA: Read Cardinal Dolan's Blog Post On Stan Musial
Musial won seven National League batting titles, was a three-time MVP and helped the Cardinals capture three World Series championships in the 1940s.
The Cardinals announced Musial's death in a news release. They said he died Saturday evening at his home in Ladue surrounded by family.
Musial is so revered in St. Louis that two statues of him stand outside Busch Stadium. He spent his entire 22-year career with the Cardinals and made the All-Star team 24 times — baseball held two All-Star games each summer for a few seasons.
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